Friday, 27 November 2009

Cost of Royal Visit is a Bargain, Pat!

The recent Royal Visit by The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall cost us about $2.6 million. That breaks down to a whopping 7 cents per Canadian.

NDP MP Pat Martin (Winnipeg Centre) thinks that's too much. In fact, according to Mr. Martin, "This is as good an argument as I have ever heard for a republic of Canada." Well, sir, the arguments you have heard thus far must be pretty bad.

The reality is that $2.6 million is barely a drop in the bucket for a federal government budget of $260 billion. Frankly, it's a heck of a bargain considering the thousands of lives that were touched by the Royal Couple's presence, the exposure communities (such as Cupids, NL) received (no amount of advertising can buy the publicity a Royal Visit can get you), and the economic activity the visit helped generate (how many people bought a coffee or hot chocolate to stay warm or grabbed a bite to eat after the royal event?).

Plus, surely Mr. Martin doesn't need to be reminded that we monarchists are taxpayers, too? Psst. We don't mind our share of taxes going towards the Royal Visit.

It amazes me that opponents of the Canadian Crown continue to argue cost as a reason to abolish the monarchy. They conveniently never take issue with the cost of hosting the President of the United States or other heads of state, or for that matter even hosting foreign Royals such as the Emperor and Empress of Japan. Nope, they only open their mouths when it comes to hosting members of our own Royal Family.

Thankfully, Canadians are far too intelligent to be suckered into manipulative games played by republicans such as Pat Martin. Yes, there may be some good arguments against the monarchy. But, cost is certainly not one of them.

Welcome | Bonjour

My name is Robert (Bob) Finch. I am truly honoured to serve as the Dominion Chairman of the Monarchist League of Canada. I joined the League over a decade ago to help promote the understanding of and loyalty to the Canadian Crown.

Welcome to my Blog. I look forward to sharing with you exciting news and information about the League and the Crown.

I always enjoy hearing from our members and from the public. Please feel free to Email me at chairman@monarchist.ca.